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JEHOVAH,   GOD  OF 
BATTLES,  UP  TO  DATE 

THE  GERMAN  GOD 


A  Satire  and  Sequel  to  the  Soliloquy  of  Cesare 
Borgia  in  "  The  Faith  of  Princes,"  and  a 
Prophecy  that  came  true. 


JEHOVAH,   GOD  OF 
BATTLES,  UP  TO  DATE 

THE  GERMAN  GOD 

A  SOLILOQUY  BT  WILLIAM  H  ON  THE 
EVE    OF    PALM    SUNDAY, 1918 


BY 

HARVEY  M.  WATTS,  A.M.,  LiTT.D. 

Author  of  "The  Wife  of  Potiphar,  with  other 
Poems,"  "The  Faith  of  Princes,"  "Pennsyl 
vania,"  "Lux  Erat,"  "Over  There,"  etc.,  etc. 


PHILADELPHIA 

THE  JOHN  C.  WINSTON  COMPANY 

1919 


SECOND  EDITION 


Copyright.  1918.  1919,  by 
HABVET  M.  WATTS 


WRITTEN  FEBRUARY  -MARCH.  AND  BEAD  BEFORE  THE 
PHI  BETA  KAPPA  AT  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  PENNSYLVANIA, 
MAT  THE  FIRST,  NINETEEN  HUNDRED  AND  EIGHTEEN 


PS 


TO    THE     MEMORY    OF 
SECOND    LIEUTENANT     WILMER     E.     HERR 

OF  THE  AMERICAN  EXPEDITIONARY 
FORCE  IN  FRANCE.  ONE  OF  THE 
FIRST  TO  FALL  IN  LORRAINE,  APRIL 
THE  EIGHTH,  NINETEEN  HUNDRED 
AND  EIGHTEEN,  IN  AN  EFFORT  TO 
SAVE  THE  WORLD  FROM  THE  TER 
RORISM  OF  THE  IMPERIAL  MONSTER 
HEREIN  DEPICTED. 


"THE   GRAVE    OVER   THERE" 

I  KNOW  a  little  mound  that  waits  for  me, 
For,  though  'tis  flower-besprent  and  flag-en 
twined, 

Yet  none  who  knew  the  clay  have  there  inclined 
And  kissed  the  earth  that  holds  him  fair  and  free, 
Knowing  his  worth,  at  rest  eternally, 
And  what  he  means  to  those  of  kin  and  kind, 
Who.  some  day,  risking  pain  of  body,  mind, 
Would  grateful  kneel  there  in  humility. — 
O  little  grave,  o'er  there  on  shot-torn  lea 
No  soil  is  alien  or  unconsecrate 
Where  he,  amid  the  shell-fire,  lies  at  peace! 
Whose  death  has  put  us  in  his  solemn  fee 
As  comes  the  dawn  of  man's  supreme  estate 
When  love  shall  waken  and  all  wars  shall  cease! 


W33f: 


3 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 


PREFACE 

IN  THE  winter  of  1918,  at  a  time  when 
the  gloomiest  foreboding  as  to  the 
possible  temporary  success  of  Might 
prevailed,  the  desire  was  never  overcome  to 
write  a  pendant  to  the  anticipations  of 
Teutonic  frightfulness  and  the  universal 
application  by  the  German  mind  of  Machia- 
velli's  "force,  fraud  and  guile,"  as  set  out  in 
my  soliloquy  of  Cesare  Borgia  in  "The 
Faith  of  Princes" — written  in  December, 
1914,  and  published  in  1915 — and  to  proph 
esy  the  downfall  of  Kaiserism  through  the 
intervention  of  America.  As  events  moved, 
however,  the  poem  when  read  before  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  Chapter  of  the 
Phi  Beta  Kappa  on  May  1st  was  considered 
somewhat  daring  in  its  open  acceptance 
of  the  doom  of  William  II  as  certain  and 
even  when  printed  in  July  was  reviewed 
more  often  as  a  broad  presentation  of  the 


[7] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

arrogant  philosophy  of  Germany's  "will  to 
Power"  —to  use  the  German  pedant's  cant 
ing  phrase — through  the  Hohenzollern  as 
the  spokesman  of  the  people's  horrible 
ambitions  than  for  its  direct  pen-picture  of 
the  Imperial  leper  at  the  end  of  his  rope. 
With  William  the  absconder,  the  laughing 
stock  of  the  whole  world,  with  none  so 
foolish  as  to  do  him  reverence,  the  coda  of 
the  poem  now  takes  on  the  significance  of 
a  prophecy  that  has  come  true.  The 
exposition  of  the  arch-criminal's  plans  and 
hopes — "he  would  agree  with  every  word 
you  have  written  and  would  only  wonder 
how  you  got  his  conceits  down  so  pat" 
writes  a  friendly  counsellor — in  the  sec 
tions  that  lead  up  to  the  coda  becomes 
therefore,  it  is  hoped,  a  kind  of  ready  refer 
ence,  a  convenient  and  almost  autobio 
graphical  and  self -revelatory  summary  of  the 
Evil  Thing  that  the  Teutonic  mind  evoked 
to  the  counter-point  of  the  Wagnerian  sword 
motif  and  the  Nibelungen  philosophy.  An 


18] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Evil  Thing  which  is  already  a  dimming 
memory  of  an  almost  unimaginable  and 
hideous  nightmare  of  stark  unrealities,  but 
which,  in  February-March,  1918,  what  with 
the  Hohenzollern  bombast  still  clogging  the 
cables  and  the  Siegfried,  Brunnhilde,  Alber- 
ich  and  Wotan  battle  lines  in  France  still 
impregnable,  was  a  very  appalling  reality 
indeed. 

H.  M.  W. 

January  1,  1919. 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES,    UP 
TO  DATE 

THE  GERMAN  GOD 

Victory ! 

Allegro  Energico. 

Soliloquy  by  William  II  on  the  eve  of 
Palm  Sunday,  1918. 

Scene — The  Cabinet  de  Travail  in  the 
Palace  at  Potsdam. 

The  Kaiser  is  looking  out  at  the  window 
over  the  park  which  darkens  under  the  spring 
twilight.  By  his  side,  on  a  small  table,  lies 
an  antique  sword,  Roman,  with  straight 
T-shaped  handle,  and  a  large  Bible  with 
many  slips  of  crimson  ribbon  inserted  in  its 
pages  to  indicate  certain  books  and  texts  upon 
which  he  has  requested  memoranda  from  the 
Imperial  Chaplains  and  Pastors  in  order  to 
pick  out  the  text  for  the  victory  sermon. 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Through  the  closed  doors  of  the  Cabinet 
come,  at  times,  the  faint  tones  of  a  piano  on 
which  some  attaches  of  the  Palace  are  playing. 
Fragments  from  the  Nibelungen  music  drama 
are  heard  and  particularly  the  "Song  of  the 
Sword"  from  Siegfried.  As  the  Kaiser's  ear 
catches  the  Sword  Motif  he  takes  his  hand 
from  the  Bible  which  he  was  about  to  open, 
beats  time  on  the  window  pane  with  his  finger 
and  exclaims: 

JAH,    "Nothung,    Nothung,    neidliches 
Schwert,"  indeed! 
Jah,    "Todt   lagst   du   in   Trummern 
dort,"  too  long! 

But  now  this  blade,  the  German  sword's  alive, 
Its  motif  sounds  through  all  the  quickened 

earth,. 

Its  long-time  forging  true  was  not  in  vain. 
The  Master  never  wrote  a  better  line; 
Nor  more  prophetic,  though  most  ears  were 

dull 
And  eyes  were  blind  to  what  it  signified. 


112) 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

From  Rheingold  to  the  final  score  the  call 
Thrills  every  soul  who  knows  his  race  and 

name; 
The  German  folk,  whose  ways  were  e'er  of 

peace, 

Yet,  trained  by  me,  know  how  to  go  to  war; 
Sons  of  the  sword,  Lords  of  the  flashing 

blade, 
"Die  Falschen"  shattered  as  by  Siegfried's 

might, 
As  France,  wild  for  revenge,  lured  by  the 

lies, 

The  lies  of  Albion,  is  spent  at  last, 
Snared  and  betrayed  by  friends  as  false  as 

weak, 

Whose  punishment,  delayed,  is  certain,  sure, 
As  "hands  across  the  sea"  stretch  emptily, 
The  gestures,  like  the  words,  full  impotent! 
Since  time  fights  with  and  for  us  to  the  last 
Our  dice  are  loaded  with  the  weight  of  men, 
Our  heavier  battalions,  winners  all, 
Whose  triumph,  all  the  world  must  now 

confess. 


118] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Nor  wrought  the  folk,nor  swung  they  sword, 

in  vain; 

And  so  in  forge,  on  farm  and  battlefront 
We  have  secured  and  kept  our  heritage. 
Facing  the  rising  sun,  we  seek  our  place 
And  shall  not  be  denied  our  lot  therein; 
Since,  lo,  we  celebrate  deeds  uncompared, 
Success  beyond  all  seeming  chance  and  range 
Of  human  prowess,  irresistible; 
More  than  we  hoped  for  was  predestinate, 
As  if  ripe  fruit,  or  rotten,  fell  by  winds 
Sent  by  our  God  who  smiles  upon  our  cause, 
The  end  made  to  our  hands  and  by  them  too. 
While  we  prepare  te  deums  for  our  hosts, 
Our  enemies  repeat  trisagions, 
Their  kyries  our  triumph-lieds  in  fact, 
The  Dies  irae  of  a  world  in  flames. 
But  not  the  "saeclum  in  favilla"  yet; 
Since  I,  protector,  not  the  wrathful  judge, 
Will  save  the  remnant  through  our  glorious 

peace; 
Our  peace,  not  theirs,  for  so  the  world  is 

bound — 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

And  bound,    must  look  to  us  to    heal  its 

wounds, 

Must  seek  the  balm  of  our  own  Gilead, 
That,  as  of  old,  awaits  my  royal  touch. 
And  whom  I  heal,  and  whom  I  shall  pass  by, 
Is  all  as  I  elect  and  God  decrees. 
But,  as  I  stand  the  victor,  all  is  plain; 
My  task  is  but  begun;  like  husbandman, 
With  cunning  hands  upon  the  worn-out  stock 
Of  ancient  cultures,  opposites,  I'll  graft 
Our  own  and  let  the  world  bear  German  fruit, 
What'er  its  origins  or  race  intent. 
They  well  may  bend  in  bough  as  twig's 

inclined, 

And  I'll  reset  as  well  as  find  the  twig 
And  fix  the  inclination  at  my  will. 
If  they  hold  back  I'll  crush  the  brood  of  hate 
With  no  more  twinges  than  the  gardener 

knows, 

Who,  booted,  stalks  along  the  sanded  path, 
And   treads   the   myriad   ants   which   idly 

swarm, 
A  realm  in  petto,  ground  beneath  his  heel! 


[15] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

And  so  with  me  the  larger  purposes, 

My  own  and  God's,  control.     Those  who 

oppose 

Bring  their  own  ruin  as  in  Belgium 
Whose  incapacity  in  time  of  stress, 
Self -violation  of  the  neutral  oath, 
Deprived  it  of  its  separate  estate; 
And  dark  Armenia  whose  hidden  plots, 
Born  of  old  schisms,  ancient  heresies, 
Fanatic  stubborness,  have  doomed  it  quite; 
And  Serbia  strutting,  when  it  should  have 

crept 

Before  us  humbly,  tripped  and  fell  full  prone. 
The  stiff-necked  ever  thus  invite  their  fate, 
And  stumbling  bring  the  world  about  their 

ears. 

I  WILLED  this  not,  nor  planned  a  world 
at  war, 
But  those  of  Islam,  men  who  walk  with 

God, 

If  not  in  our  own  way  at  least  in  theirs— 
How  well  they  walk  is  lesson  to  us  all— 


16] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

With  vision,  say  'tis  "Kismet!"     And,  of 

truth, 

Since  God  reveals  His  hand  in  history, 
Gracious  to  those  who  know  His  mind  and 

way, 

As  says  the  Koran,  there  is  fixed  a  term 
To  every  Nation  and  the  issue's  joined. 
When  it  is  passed,  no  respite,  all  is  o'er; 
Chance  knocks  upon  the  Door  of  Life  but 

once! 
Light  hearts,  light  hands,  nor  hear  the  knock 

nor  ope, 

The  feeble  beat  upon  the  bolts  in  vain. 
So  pass  my  enemies  whose  term  is  up 
As  I  seize  all  as  ready  legatee. 
Prepared!  all  things  escheat  as  if  by  rote. 
Unreadiness  is  its  own  punishment 
As  they  well  know  who  cry  in  pain  "  too  late," 
Finding  us  masters  where  they  idly  ruled. 
I  waste  no  time  o'er  their  deep  miseries; 
For  weaklings  jeopardize  all  sovereignty; 
The   chain  sums  up   the  weakest  link  in 

strength. 


in] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

And  laggard  nations,  which  are  out  of  pace, 
Shall  never  clog  nor  stop  our  chariot  wheels, 
Nor  shall  they  halt  the  progress  of  the 

world. 

Their  fell  disease  calls  loudly  for  the  knife, 
Lest  it  contaminate  the  healthy  flesh, 
And,  like  contagion,  spread  beyond  control. 
Cruel  in  deed,  am  I,  but  kind  in  fact, 
And  know  the  stroke  that  cleaves  and  like 
wise  cleans, 
Which,    multiplied    in    war's    enmillioned 

might, 

Saves  by  its  very  menace.     For,  disguised, 
War  is  the  benison  for  us,  for  all, 
The  double  blessing  to  a  nation  torn; 
New  valors  blossom  in  the  humblest  heart, 
New  virtues  spring  where  once  was  selfish 
ness, 

And  all  the  folk  at  one  in  sacred  cause, 
Sloughing  their  sins  as  if  confessed  of  God, 
Are  shrived  as  though  before  the  judgment 

seat. 
For  lo,  while  Europe,  slothful,  lay  asleep, 


118] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

I  saw  the  fiery  dragon  in  the  sky, 
More  frightful  than  a  Fafner;  saw,  in  sooth, 
The  Yellow  Peril,  and  opposed  my  might, 
Mailed  as  to  fist,  and  armed  from  top  to  toe, 
And  faced  the  menace  but  to  see  it  fade 
Before  our  threat  of  might  and  majesty. 
Woe,  woe  to  them  who  stand  athwart  my 

path. 

The  Goth  is  my  exemplar  to  the  end, 
In  Attila  I  see  myself  forecast, 
Flagella  peccatorum,  as  our  Lord. 
For  I  am  Jahveh's  sword  and  doubled-edged. 
An  instrument  devoted  in  his  hands; 
A  scourge  of  God  in  fact  as  well  as  fame, 
Who  sums  the  Hun  in  all  his  ruthlessness, 
But,  like  the  fire,  a  cauter  and  a  cure! 

SO  I  have  fought  the  fight  and  kept  the 
faith 
E'en  as  my  allies,  quick  of  ear  and 

hand, 

Who  keep  with  me  the  sacred  word  and  strive 
Under  the  banner  of  the  Caliphate. 


[19] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Pawns  in  my  play  who  move  as  I  direct. 
This  is  the  law  of  Nations  and  of  right, 
The  "must"  and  "ought"  of  Kant's  impera 
tive, 

The  category  of  the  ruling  mind, 
That  keeps  the  conscience  and  the  State  as 

one. 

This  is  the  inspiration  of  success, 
The  cause  and  conduct  of  a  war  most  just. 
Nations  no  less  than  Nature  must  obey 
The  universal  rule  that  seeks  the  fit 
And  arms  them  with  the  right  divine  to  live, 
Surviving  while  their  enemies  are  crushed. 
Darwin  is  ours!  his  law  we  have  applied 
As  law  of  action,  superseding  cults, 
Since  war  selects  unerringly  its  own. 
While  some  are  raised  to  honor,  victis  vae! 
Treitschke    foresaw,    foretold,    forewarned 

them  all 

In  open  prophecy  of  that  great  day, 
When  force  and  frightfulness  the  direful 

means, 
Direful  for  those  who  sat  with  folded  hands, 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Would  bring  the  sure  result  in  certain  time 
As  we  prepared  the  nation  to  a  man. 
And  gave  the  countersign  of  hope  to  all; 
Strike  without  mercy,  slay  without  a  trace! 
Our  knights  whose  cloak  is  white  if  cross  be 

black — 

The  omen  is  propitious  to  our  cause — 
For  ever  set  their  seal  upon  our  way; 
The  olden  way  that  suits  our  cause  today. 
And  stand  the  model  of  our  conquering 

hosts. 

Who  have,  in  newer  Tannenberg,  redeemed 
Their  marshes,  reddened  with  the  martyr 

blood 

Of  those  wrho  set  our  feet  upon  the  path 
Of  empire  through  the  sure  Teutonic  soul, 
Strengthening  the  stroke  of  surer  Teuton 

sword, 

Time's  long-delayed  requital  at  our  hands ; 
Lex  talionis,  law  of  tooth  and  claw, 
As  we  revenge  ourselves  for  all  the  past, 
None  left  with  eyes  but  those  that  weep 

their  fate ! 


[21 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

WAGNER  was  right,  the  sword  is 
over  all. 
And  would  a  greater  might  arise  to 

set 

A  newer  scoring  for  this  flashing  steel 
Our  own  Excalibur,  a  sacred  sign! 
Our  "in  hoc  signo  vinces,"  by  the  sword, 
And  not  the  cross  as  Constantine  averred, 
Who,   wearied,   saw,   on  high   in  Rhenish 

lands, 

His  haloed  labarum  in  blazing  sky; 
In  terror  of  the  omen,  full  distraught, 
Grasped  at  the  shadow  and  misread  the  sign. 
For,  hold  the  blade  with  handle  upright,  so, 
The  chorus  does  it  very  well  in  "Faust," 
And  e'er  the  blood-wet  weapon   turns   a 

cross. 

But  still  for  that  it  is  the  blade  that  wins, 
And  won  for  Constantine  as  all  men  know. 
So  we  reverse  the  omen  to  our  gain. 
In  signo  hoc — The  sword  our  only  sign! 
Who  did  not  grasp  this  fact  but  only  knew 
The  little  arc  of  their  own  destiny, 


[22] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Nor  saw  the  greater  circle  which  I  scanned, 
Have  brought  this  ruin  on  themselves,  the 

fools ! 

They  read  the  story  but  to  miss  the  point, 
We  make  the  past  convenient  stepping  stones, 
Or  fingerposts  that  point  the  only  way, 
Or  charted  seas  with  all  shoals  indicate. 
And  I  in  Russia  have  applied  the  hint 
And  made  their  present  debtor  to  our  past. 
As  Friedrich  knew  that  Poland  could  not 

live 

Save  as  a  vassal  of  a  greater  line, 
Since  all  things  whirl  inexorably  by  law, 
Each  center  with  attendant  satellites, 
Quiring  in  harmony  and  lasting  peace, 
As  once  proud  Rome,  the  golden  hub,  con 
trolled 

All  destinies.     Gained  not  by  single  stroke, 
As  when  Caligula,  an  ass  in  boots, 
Wished  that  his  enemies  had  but  one  neck, 
But  surely,  each  in  turn,  till  all  were  won. 
"Divide  and  conquer,'*  'twas  the  ancient 
aim, 


[23] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Which  we  apply  in  quintessential  force, 
As  fortune  shows  the  way  and  eke  the  means. 
E'en  as  the  Caesars  glorified  the  rule, 
Inheritors  of  all  their  greater  lore, 
Roman  in  all  but  name,  we  take  our  own. 
And  take  it  first;  by  that  the  game  is  won. 
Enslaved  by  me  the  conquered  do  our  tasks. 
I  leave  to  them  their  self-determined  way 
So  long  as  they  promote  the  end  desired; 
The  end  that  justifies  our  every  deed. 
Nor  quarrel  I  o'er  means  that  get  results; 
Since  war  is  war,  why  count  the  units  lost? 
The  mass  is  all  that  matters  in  the  main, 
Who  counts  the  eggs  that  made  the  omelet? 
For  omnia  prona  victoribus  was  writ 
Of  England  conquered  and  full  bound  in 

chains. 

Victors  the  world  will  grovel  at  your  feet 
Where  conquered  you  accept  their  jibes  and 

gyves. 

"Auferre,  trucidare,  rapere," 
Says  Tacitus  of  Britain's  ancient  woes. 
"Yes,  rape  and  rapine,"  so  his  venom  runs, 


1*4] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

"Misnamed  as  Empire  overcame  the  world." 
With  appetite  beyond  the  chance  to  glut, 
Since  "Quos  non  Oriens,  non  Occidens 
Et  satiaverit,"  they  quote  at  me. 
"Nor  East  nor  West  could  satisfy  their 

greed. 

With  equal  avid  wish,  abundance,  want 
The  rich,  the  poor  they  coveted  and  seized." 
And  yet,  and  yet,  their  bounds,  periphery, 
The  urbs  et  orbis,  circle  of  the  lands, 
Spite  of  the  slanders,  words  of  British  hate, 
Where'er  the  conqueror  went  were  blessed 

with  peace; 

That  Pax  Romana  that  redeemed  the  earth, 
As  now  that  peace  that  comes  alone  through 

me, 

My  peace  to  which  I'll  dedicate  a  shrine — 
Our  Ara  Pacis  more  imperial 
Than  that  Augustus  raised  with  easy  fame, 
Rome's  latest  wonder,  pigmy  though  to  mine 
As  Leipzig's  monument  forecasts  in  bulk — 
And  glorify  as  Pax,  Pax  Candida, 
Shining  fore'er  as  Pax  Germanica! 


[25) 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

THEY  whine  o'er  this  and  cry  "Atro 
cities!" 
And  scream  o'er  women  plotters, 

rightly  slain, 

Of  loose-lived  soldiers  by  us  crucified, 
A  warning  seen  but  once  not  soon  forgot, 
And  quote  the  Massacre  of  Innocents. 
Well,  Herod  is  traduced  through  lying  text; 
The  Matthew  Gospel  stands  in  this  impure. 
Then,  as  of  me,  they  spread  the  cunning  tale, 
Maligned  the  Imperial  dignity  and  power, 
Imputed  evils  that  their  mind  evoked. 
But  if  it  were  necessity,  all's  well! 
I  join  the  tetrarch,  nor  condemn  the  act 
When  it  is  done  for  purposes  of  State; 
Women  and  children  first,  lest  they  should 

prove 

Impedimenta  that  might  block  our  way, 
Since  infants  make  a  ready  blind  for  men 
And  tottering  peasants  screen  an  ambuscade. 
So  let  them  prattle  of  our  blood  and  iron; 
And  I  will  answer  with  the  roar  of  guns. 
My  Empire  is  the  cannon's  farthest  range, 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Its  limits  marked  alone  by  force  of  arms, 
Where  flies  the  flag  o'er  sea,  where  tread  my 

troops ! 

This  is  my  challenge  flung  both  far  and  wide. 
No  bounds  of  Hercules  in  narrowed  strait 
Confine  us  to  the  seas  as  known  of  old; 
The  Baltic  and  the  Middle  Seas  our  own, 
The  ocean  turned  into  a  German  lake. 
This  is  "Der  Tag"  we  toasted  to  the  skies, 
And  this  expansion  is  but  Nature's  law, 
And  its  accomplishment  a  holy  cause, 
Our  Jehad,  dear  to  me  and  all  my  line, 
Since  our  brave  banner  bears  the  one  device, 
As  supermen  the  supramundum  cry; 
The  Fatherland  o'er  all,  o'er  all  the  world. 

VICTOR  abroad,  at  home  my  will  is 
law 
In  court  and  temple,  fane  and  syna 
gogue, 

Semite  and  anti-Semite  do  my  will, 
And  all  the  Christian  faiths  hang  on  my 
word. 


[27] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

No  bleak  Canossa  lies  before  my  path, 
Matilda's  fame  is  "writ  in  water;"  bah! 
The  Vatican's  decrees  sing  small  indeed, 
They  talk  of  "peace,"  "impartiality"; 
I  laugh  aloud,  indeed,  both  first  and  last, 
And  who  would  not  who  stands  behind  the 

scenes 
And  moves  them  all ;  mere  marionettes  that 

dance 

As  puppet  rulers  as  I  pull  the  strings. 
Their  non-cathedra  murmurings  are  vain, 
Mere   tinkling   brass,    solemn    but   empty 

sound. 

My  sanction  supersedes  their  canon  law, 
Their  "imprimatur"  is  my  manual, 
The  text  is  theirs,  the  inspiration  mine. 
They  know  a  Fontainebleau  awaits  them  all, 
So  they  dissemble,  and,  with  feeble  show 
Of  power,  "thunder  in  the  indices," 
Unheard  beyond  the  Tiber's  muddy  banks, 
And  there  unknown  save  in  Trastevere 
Within  the  Pope's  own  court  of  Damasus. 
Our  Cardinals,  'tis  true,  have  all  the  port 


28] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD     OF    BATTLES 

And  ancient  pomp  of  princes  of  the  realm. 
He  of  Cologne  is  Bourbon  to  the  hat, 
As  arrogant  as  Hildebrand  himself, 
But  Hildebrand  in  exile  knew  the  day 
Of  disillusion  and  of  shattered  hopes, 
The  punishment  for  pride  that  rode  to  fall. 
The  Countess  failed  him  at  the  last,  his 

threats 

Re-echoed  idly  in  St.  Angelo; 
Things  not  set  out  in  Papal  histories. 
Today  they'd  play  the  same  old,  worn-out 

tricks 

With  Munich  as  their  latest  stalking  horse, 
Where,  lo,  the  Civil  hides  the  Prelate's  robe. 
But  I  will  thwart  them  at  the  proper  time; 
They  know  not  Luther,  Reuchlin  is  forgot, 
Erasmus  as  if  not,  but  we  shall  see. 
A  newer  Kultur-kampf  may  ope  their  eyes, 
The  Sistine  know  the  calibre  of  guns, 
And  dogma  yield  to  lay  majorities 
When  backed  by  bombs  and  zeppelins  in 

flight 
And  all  to  force,  and  so  the  circle's  run. 


29 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Yet  they  extend  my  person  and  my  power 
Since  all  must  bow  before  me  and  obey. 
Just  as  the  Jews,  though  ingrates,  are  of  use; 
In  race  apart  they  know  no  Nation's  heart, 
Exiled,  "dispersed"  from  far  Judean  soil, 
They,  like  Antaeus  out  of  touch  with  earth, 
Have  lost  their  fighting  spirit  once  their  wont 
And  find  their  "Promised  Land"  in  lanes  of 

trade, 

The  "milk  and  honey"  in  the  interest  rate. 
Unstable  as  a  woman's  whims  they  cower, 
But  garner  where  our  steel  has  reaped  the 

grain. 
Their  bankers  cried  that  they  "would  have 


no  war." 


Poof,  poof,  like  down  before  the  gale  their 
weight 

When  war  broke  out  and  boundaries  dis 
appeared, 

And  credit,  like  the  laws,  or  stood  or  fell 

As  arms  determined  and  the  battle's  gage. 

I'll  teach  them  what  the  Ghetto  really 
means, 


(80) 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

I'll  have  the  synagogues  reform  their  ways, 
And  quote  the  prophets  to  sustain  my  throne. 
And  new  phylacteries  shall  spell  my  wish, 
Instead  of  mumbo-jumbo  for  a  text 
Mere  amulets  of  Bedouins  at  the  best. 
If  they  plot  anarchy  as  is  the  wont 
Of  kith  and  kin  in  Russia,  vermin  all, 
They'll  face  a  Pale  from  Posen  to  the  sea 
And  know  the  clink  of  something  else  than 
gold. 

BUT   I  full  know  their  cultus  helps  my 
cause, 
For  e'en  the  Koran  is  a  mine  of 

wealth, 

Its  Suras  filled  with  pregnant  rules  of  life, 
Of  racial  law,  domestic  wisdom  too, 
Since  all  the  East  is  wise  in  its  own  way. 
And  we  may  profit  while  we  hold  our  own 
Compelling  tribute  to  the  State's  one  aim, 
Its  strength  in  numbers  knowing  but  our  will. 
But  this  is  vain  if  numbers  melt  away 
Before  the  stress  of  war  without  recoup 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

And  men  and  women  turn  to  epicenes— 
Forgetting    "Male   and   female   made   He 

them" 

Like  to  the  birds  in  air,  the  beasts  in  field 
Nor  spoiled  by  manners  of  the  close  or  cage- 
As  pundits  quarrel  over  customs,  means, 
And  crown  virginity  with  claustral  phrase, 
And  empty  cradles  menace  e'en  the  throne. 
Man-strength  is  but  the  babe-in-arms  of  age. 
Yet  we  sit  idle  while  the  sands  run  out 
And  think  of  marriage  as  a  chance  caprice, 
One  man,  one  mate,  as  if  the  law  of  God. 
Not  so  the  record  nor  the  unbroken  rule, 
As  my  professors,  quick  on  ancient  ways, 
Eager  to  serve  me  with  safe  precedents 
Of  customs  certified  by  sure  results 
And  fitted  to  our  modern  idiom, 
Rooted  in  Ayran  race  and  origin, 
Have  proved  in  brochures  irrefutable! 
The  Talmud,  in  the  face  of  facts,  allows 
The  long  familiar  habit  of  the  folk, 
Yet  sets  no  seal,  no  more  than  Islam  does, 
Of  prim  approval  on  the  equal  bond 


[8*] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Of  twain  as  one,  since  need  must  e'er  decide 
The  moral  obligations  of  the  State. 
And  I  decide  what  custom  must  approve; 
The  State's  summed  up  in  me  and  fixed  in 

mine! 

And  in  this  crisis,  lo,  our  course  is  clear, 
One  duty  falls  with  equal  force  on  all. 
As  war  upsets  the  olden  rule  of  We, 
The  law,  command  divine,  "Increase  and 

multiply"; 

The  cornerstone  by  God,  ordained  of  old, 
Should  be  for  us  a  potent  lease  of  power. 
Mahomet  proved  the  seer  in  this,  nor  stood 
Upon  lax  preachments;  yet,  we,  weak,  recoil, 
E'en  though  the  Mormon  State  has  proved 

anew 

That  chastity  is  but  the  soul's  intent. 
The  home  is  oft  the  harem,  thin  disguised, 
And  childless,  loveless,  too,  a  hollow  sham, 
So  out  upon  this  cheap  hypocrisy 
And  let  us  take  the  lesson  to  our  hearts, 
Find  newer  virtue  in  new  sacrifice. 
Let  women  ne'er  forget  their  "rule  of  three," 


[33] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Church,  chores  and  children,  sole  and  only 

aim, 

And  make  the  family,  as  of  old,  the  fount 
And  firm  foundation  of  a  lasting  State. 
Nor  hazard  future  years  by  false  ideas. 
The  people  at  their  best,  our  brawn  and 

brain, 

Are  but  the  shadow  of  my  competence. 
And  I  will  shape  them  to  our  signal  ends. 
Yea,  "regis  voluntas  suprema  lex," 
My  will  is  law  in  forum  and  in  field! 

I  STAND  upon  the  pinnacle  of  fame, 
A  new  Assyria  rises  into  view. 
Austria,  my  vassal,  at  my  beck  and  call, 
With  kings  and  princes  as  my  satrapies, 
For  Alexander,  Caesar,  Charlemagne, 
Ne'er  knew  such  triumphs  as  are  ours  by 

arms. 

For  lo,  as  from  a  lofty  mountain  height 
The  Kingdoms  of  the  world  laid  out  in  plan, 
Reticulate  as  if  from  'plane  in  flight, 
Are  spread  as  feast  before  my  searching  eyes, 


[84] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD     OF    BATTLES 

Which  catch  a  glory  of  the  Greater  East 
Reflecting  glory  of  the  Greater  West. 
Theodoric  who  flung  his  mighty  dare 
O'er  the  Isonzo  set  for  me  the  pace; 
And  with  Napoleon  in  Egyptian  sands 
I've  looked  to  Gaza  and  to  Lebanon, 
"Partant  Pour  Syrie"  as  my  lullaby, 
And  sensed  the  Orient  in  golden  dreams, 
My  fancy  visioning  its  strange  delights 
As  Haroun  trod  the  streets  in  chance  dis 
guise, 

And  intrigue,  in  the  cloak  of  sheer  Romance, 
Gave  Narrative  compelling  mystery. — 
So,  musing  o'er  the  magic  of  its  lands, 
Wondrous  their  past  and  possibilities, 
Whose  plains  have  ever  held  my  deep  desires, 
Whose  hills  my  ardent  hopes,  where  old  and 

new 

Meet  on  the  shining  way  that  leads  at  last 
Past  Bagdad  to  the  seas  that  wash  the  Ind 
Under  the  yellow  moon  of  Schahriar, 
Beneath  the  rose  tree  where  old  Omar  sleeps, 
And  through  the  fastnesses  of  Afghan  gorge, 


[35 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

With  Delitsch  I  have  lived  the  lives  of  old, 
Restored  in  splendor  Asshurbanipal, 
Symbol  of  all  my  plans  of  empiry, 
Spawned  in  the  East,  perfected  in  the  West. 
A  second  Constantine,  I,  on  the  Rhine, 
Which,  safely  German,  laves  its  banks  in 

peace, 

No  longer  subject  to  Ovidian  sneers, 
The  "Rhenus   squalidus"    'midst   "broken 

reeds," 

Shall,  lo,  evoke  the  West  that  is  our  East 
And  East  that's  West  as  our  own  leaven 

works. 

Russia  my  footstool,  washpot,  too,  in  fact, 
The  Euxine  held  by  us  in  simple  fee, 
The  Golden  Horn,  a  bauble  in  our  hands, 
The  Drang  nach  Osten  realized  at  last; 
Where  we  may  bask  and  stretch  ourselves 

at  ease, 

Yes,  in  the  sun  at  his  meridian  height. 
For  I  have  trod  the  Holy  Land  and  gazed 
In  silence  on  grey -walled  Gethsemane, 
And,  from  on  high,  on  sloping  Olivet, 


JEHOVAH,     GOD     OF    BATTLES 

Saw  mine  own  tower  o'er  Jerusalem, 
Triumphant  rising  in  the  Muristan; 
Above  all  domes  and  minarets  supreme, 
Supreme   o'er  David's   tower   and   battle 
ments; 

A  prophecy  of  my  intent  and  will. 
And  had  they  read  it  better  for  them  all. 
For  more  was  broken  down  than  olden  walls 
And  parapets  of  Solymein  the  Great, 
When,  through  the  breach  that  looks  toward 

Joppa,  I, 

Acclaimed  by  all,  came  in  a  Paladin, 
In  shining  panoply  in  knightly  guise, 
A  second  Barbarossa,  aye,  in  state, 
And  shared  the  privileges  oft  denied 
The  great  in  dim  and  inner  secret  shrines. 
Damascus  too  paid  tribute  to  my  aim; 
Like  Saul  I  found  there  my  apostolate. 
With  eager  ardor  as  of  convert's  zeal, 
In  prayer  before  the  tomb  of  Saladin, 
In  firm  resolve  to  follow  where  he  lead, 
I  pressed  the  lesson  of  unscabbared  might; 
"Protector  of  the  Faithful"  for  all  time. 


[37] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

With  my  Megiddo  not  a  threshing  floor, 
Scant  in  extent  if  meeting-place  of  kings, 
Ensanguined  by  the  blood  of  centuries, 
But  world-wide  in  its  swelling  amplitude! 
Had  I  but  gone  to  Mecca,  Ah,  in  truth, 
Arabia  at  my  feet,  the  desert  bound 
In  fealty  of  faith  to  my  own  whims, 
Would  follow,  camel-wise,  where'er  I  led. 
I'll  have  a  fetva  yet,  for  what  are  creeds 
To  those  who  tread  the  higher  ways  of  life — 
And  King  and  Kaiser,  I'll  be  Caliph  too; 
Lord  of  all  Asia  and  the  whirling  globe. 

A  NEWER  Petrus,  I;  I,  too,  have  seen 
The  vision  of  the  heavenly  sheet  let 
down 

And  know  the  meaning  of  the  clear  com 
mand 

"Consider  nothing  common  or  unclean!" 
We  Germans  know  our  destiny,  our  fate, 
Our  learning  is  for  all  a  tonic  draft 
Of  living  waters  from  the  sacred  rock, 
A  panacea  seen  by  Malachi, 


[38] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

That  Sun  of  Righteousness  whose  radiant 

beams 

Light  up  the  earth  with  glory  all  its  own. 
Through  me  the  synthesis  of  all  belief, 
The  universal  solvent,  Alcahest, 
Philosophy  with  all  its  dross  expurged, 
Becomes  the  touchstone  of  my  people's  weal. 
For  gods  are  made  in  man's  own  image,  aye, 
And  badly  made  at  that  in  foolishness 
As  all  the  deities  invent,  attest. 
Chemosh  and  Marduk,  Moloch  all  are  one 
Squabbling  like  vultures  o'er  the  carrion 

fields 

Of  war,  and  eager  for  the  praise  of  men; 
The  praise  of  men  who  cry  them,  "Victors 

all!" 

These  be  the  gods  of  old,  e'en  Israel's — 
Jahveh  is  Judah  'tween  the  cherubim, 
^hile  "Allah"  is  but  Arab  written  large. 
The  desert  spawns  its  prophets  as  the  sand 
Yields  up  the  incense-bearing  shrubbery. 
The  elders  walk  with  God,  the  young  cry  out 
Their  burning  visions  to  the  passers-by; 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

The  very  "res  angustae"  give  them  point. 
When  gaunt  of  body,  lo,  the  soul  expands, 
And,  starved  at  home,  they  spread  their 

truths  abroad, 

For  logothetes  were  early  in  the  field 
In  Babylon  as  at  Byzantium. 
But  I  would  strike  the  balance  with  them  all. 
Combine  the  logos  with  the  blade  that  rules. 
But  for  the  sword,  Mohammed  might  have 

mused 

Upon  the  Meccan  housetops  all  in  vain, 
Hailed  as  a  babbler,  dreamer  of  vain  dreams, 
And  jeered  and  hooted  in  the  market  place. 
But,  lo,  when  from  Medina  swept  his  horde, 
Fire  in  their  eye  and  fury  in  their  heart, 
Who  neither  asked,  nor  quarter  gave,  in 

sooth, 

The  Empire  rose  again  in  the  Eastern  lands, 
And  Allah  and  his  prophet  claimed  their 

due. 

And  like  Jehovah,  or  the  earlier  line 
Of  village  deities,  the  parish  bonds 
Were  burst  asunder  by  the  feat  of  arms, 


1*0] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD     OF    BATTLES 

And  swift  dominion  came  with  sword  and 

book 
And  book  proved  by  the  sword  became  the 

law. 

As  our  Kultur  is  now  before  the  world. 
For,  in  the  melting-pot,  faiths  equalize; 
And   so   with   Allah   mine,   our  Lord   still 

shrined, 

Yet  I  am  not  unmindful  of  our  own, 
The  ancient  runes  of  wood-folk,  hero-bred, 
Who  know  the  fetish  and  its  magic  power; 
The  Bismarck  "turms"  upon  the  ancient 

heights, 

Druidic  altars  of  the  empire's  birth, 
Like  Baal-fires  kindled  as  a  warning  sign; 
Or,  as  our  Mars,  the  giant  Hindenburg, 
Colossal  idol  of  the  people's  hopes, 
Studded  with  golden  nails,  a  new  taboo 
Our  procul,  procul,  0,  profani,  Ah, 
The  Ur-mind  harking  to  its  olden  call. 
An  avatar  of  ancient  fearlessness, 
An  Ariovistus  in  the  flesh  once  more. 
But,  lo,  a  chief  whom  fortune  never  fails — 


(41] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

The  jade  does  ever  favor  those  who  seize 
Her  by  the  scruff,  deaf  to  all  niceties — 
Thus  we  improve  the  breed  and  sturdy  stock, 
React  to  all  the  heart-pull  of  the  race. 
And,  as  the  Valkyrs  sweep  the  darkening  sky, 
With  neigh  of  horse  and  scurry  of  the  hoofs 
And  flash  of  fire  mid  thunder  in  the  vault, 
Our  Wotan,  Thor  and  Loki  rise  in  sight 
Our  Northern  forbears,  yes,  our  three  in  one, 
Their  contradictions  all  resolved  by  me, 
The  Norns  the  servants  of  my  destiny. 
Myself  the  arbiter  of  fate  and  faith 
Et  deum  inveniam  aut  faciam, 
I'll  find  a  god  or  make  one  to  my  taste- 
Since  by  my  right  on  earth,  vice  regent,  I, 
In  essence  Godlike  in  my  Majesty 
Summus  episcopus,  I  thus  declare 
This  thing  amalgamate  from  Holy  Writ, 
Disjecta  membra  of  the  old  beliefs, 
Welded  be  me,  as  Siegmund's  broken  shards 
Into  the  tempered  blade  that  nought  with 
stood, 
The  Norseland  sagas,  Islam's  litanies, 


[42] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

The  Vedic  Hymns  and  Iran's  mystic  rites, 
Lore  of  the  East  and  wisdom  of  the  West, 
Jehovah,  God  of  Battles,  up  to  date, 
Improved  by  me  in  world-compelling  cult, 
Once  tribal  now  shall  dominate  the  earth: — 
Judea's  hilltop  Lord,  the  German  God, 
Der  alte  Gott  der  Deutschen  und  der  Welt, 
But  ruling  not  alone,  aye,  not  alone ! 

THE  PEACE  OF  JOSHUA 

Allegro  Trionfale. 

The  Kaiser  turns  abruptly,  picks  up  the 
Bible  and  begins  to  finger  the  different  marked 
places,  his  eye  lighting  up  as  he  notes  the 
familiar  and  favorite  texts  and,  carefully 
readjusting  certain  of  the  markers,  he  con 
tinues  his  musing: 

THEY  ask  me  to  select  the  victory 
text. 
Aye,  they  do  well — It  must  be  done 

with  care, 
With  full  regard  to  our  dynastic  claims 


143] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

And  what  this  people  mean  before  the  world. 
I  will  not  have  a  war  of  petty  creeds 
Splitting  thin  hairs  of  doctrine  in  my  cause. 
In  this  great  moment  of  the  Empire's  life, 
One  thought,  one  mind,  one  heart,  one  hope 

is  ours, 

The  pulpit  may  embellish,  give  its  gloss, 
And  suit  the  language  to  its  auditors, 
Simple  or  high  and  rich  or  poor  or  great, 
Small  is  the  difference  so  they  follow  me; 
As  ships  lie  moored  at  anchorage  and  veer 
And  float  this  way  and  that  as  shifts  the  tide, 
But  ever  steadfast  to  the  hidden  chains 
That  keep  them  in  the  channel  and  the 

course, 

So  I  would  hold  all  anchored  to  my  will 
And  to  the  word  that  vindicates  our  cause. 
To  fix  the  mob-mind  is  a  care  of  State. 
And  these  the  shepherds  of  the  flock  should 

learn 

How  best  to  drive  and  what  the  path  shall  be. 
I'll  have  the  rectors  work  the  problem  out 
And  let  the  pastors  echo  my  ideas, 


[4*1 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

With  each  professor  prophesying  too. 
The  text,  from  Old  or  New,  it  matters  not, 
Save  that  the  message  ring  out  loud  and 

clear 

With  due  respect  to  what  the  sword  has  won 
These  are  the  compass  points  of  my  concern, 
The  North  and  South  of  all  my  policy. 
No  Caesar,  ppntifex  as  well  as  dux, 
E'er  saw  a  world  so  helpless  at  his  feet. 
My  apotheosis  at  last  is  nigh; 
The  auguries  must  be  manipulate, 
The  signs  uphold  me  in  my  deep  designs. 
I'll  brook  no  play  of  empty  phrase  to  prove 
Some  fond  perversion  of  plans  foreordained. 
No;  nothing  left  to  chance  lest  feeble  wits, 
Whose  hearts  are  not  much  softer  than  their 

heads, 

Should  seek  with  muddled  vision  to  confuse 
The  growing  testament  that  vindicates 
Our  every  deed — The  Law,  the  Prophets,  too, 
The  Gospel  and  Epistles,  word  for  word, 
Whose  myriad  texts  like  clouds  of  witnesses 
Yield  richest  savor,  incense  for  our  cause 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Interpreted  by  rubrics  all  mine  own. 

So  those  who  cry  of  "ploughshares,  pruning 

hooks," 

Like  children  playing  on  the  cliff  edge  stand 
In  slippery  places  menaced  by  my  wrath. 
For  I  will  none  of  this;  hew  to  the  line, 
Stand  by  your  guns,  exult  and  magnify ! 

E'EN  Jesus,  who  is  Joshua  new  spelled — 
A  Joshua  too  much  compassionate 
Whose  views  are  not  in  full  accord 

with  mine, 

Yet  hath  He  said,  "To  Caesar  render  all 
Of  tribute  that  is  his  and  eke  to  God 
The  measure  that  is  His  in  equal  part." 
So  thus  he  recognized  the  state  supreme — 
They  would  misquote.    And  yet  He  counsels 

war — 

Bernhardi  notes  it  in  his  argument — 
Cries  out,  "I  come  not  here  to  send  you 

peace, 

But  lo,  a  sword,  as  is  my  father's  wish." 
He  knew  his  mission  as  do  I  know  mine. 


("I 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

But  as  the  clangors  of  the  bells  succeed 

The  diapason  of  the  battlefields, 

I  fain  would   quote  the  elder  texts  that 

breathe 
The  throb  and  threat  of  men  hi  bloody 

shock; 
Texts  filled  with  wrath  divine  that  seeks 

no  peace: — 
"Their  youth  shall  die,  no  remnant  shall  be 

left, 

The  men  of  Anathoth  shall  know  our  God, 
The  Lord  of  Hosts,  and  die  there  by  His 

sword." 

So  Jeremiah  strikes  the  tonic  key, 
And  with  him  is  Ezekiel,  whose  words 
Roll  out  and  on  as  distant  sound  of  drums, 
Bold  hymns  of  conquest  and  of  hearty  hate. 
They  sing  the  old  song  of  the  sword,  not 

new, 

As,  lo,  it  slaked  its  thirst  in  thousands  slain 
As  God  reached  down  among  Judean  hills, 
And  cities  fell,  their  smoke  a  cloud  by  day 
And  fiery  pillar  in  the  purple  night. 


[47] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Why  palter  we,  or  falter,  when  we  read 

The  adjuration  all  so  plainly  writ: 

Exult  with  these  of  old  who  slew  and  sang, 

And  sang  just  as  they  slew,  as  we  do  now. 

But  no  one  text  can  satisfy  today. 

I  would  a  chorus  sang  in  sweeping  tones, 

The  words  of  Deborah  in  ecstacy; 

Or  with  the  timbrel  followed  Miriam's  song, 

For  she  rejoiced  in  Pharaoh's  hosts  o'er- 

whelmed 
And  knew  her  God  was  lord  of  those  who 

fight. 
Yea,  shout  aloud  so  that  the  world  may 

hear:— 
"For  Saul  has  slain  his  thousands,"  Oh, 

rejoice, 

"And  David  multiplied  the  blow  by  tens." 
Paltry  these  numbers  as  we  count  our  dead, 
A  thousand  thousand  and  still  incomplete, 
Laid  on  the  altar  of  the  Fatherland, 
A  willing  offer  from  us  all  to  bind 
With   blood   my   august   rule   and   sacred 

throne ! 


[48] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

THEY  send  Ecclesiastes  for  a  text; 
For  says  the  Preacher  well,  There's 
time  to  love, 

And  time  to  hate,  yes  hate,  and  time  to  war, 
And  then,  in  sooth,  he  holds  a  time  of  grace. 
The  kind  of  grace  is  matter  for  our  will. 
But  Samuel,  Kings  and  both  the  Chronicles 
Bear  witness  that  our  conquest  is  of  right. 
We  are  the  besom  of  the  living  God, 
The  chosen  to  secure  His  righteous  rule. 
Fools,  fools,  who  pass  by  Judges,  Genesis, 
Nor  know  the  lessons  taught  by  Exodus. 
Each  verse  and  chapter  forms  the  Book  of 

Fate; 

A  light  unto  my  path,  a  lamp,  indeed, 
To  mine  own  feet  that  took  the  open  road. 
The  road  that  ends  in  victory  supreme! 
King  David  is  our  hope  for  every  act, 
Reprisals  have  God's  full  authority: 
"Reward  them  as  they  serve  thee,"  thus 

one  Psalm, 

"And  happy  they  who  take  the  little  ones 
And  dash  their  heads  against  the  very  stones. " 


49 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Nor  do  the  others  fail  me  in  support, 
My  favorite,  the  Ninety -third,  rings  true, 
Dry sander  uses  it  with  marked  effect. 
And  when  I  hear  it  quoted  in  the  Dom, 
Or  sung  as  Psalter,  to  myself  I  cry 
'Tis  I;  they  sing  of  me,  I'm  Majesty, 
The  words  but  changed,  the  phrases  are  of 

me, 
"The  Lord  is  clothed  with  Majesty  and 

strength, 

His  throne  is,  yea,  of  old,  and  is  not  moved, 
The  Testimonies  of  his  words  are  sure, 
And,  mightier  than  the  sea  in  all  its  rage, 
The  voice  of  many  nations  and  the  storm, 
Is  Majesty  upon  its  awful  throne." 
My  throne  IS  awful  as  I  sit  the  judge 
Upon  these  people  who  provoke  my  wrath. 
And  then  the  Twenty -fourth  is  balm  indeed, 
Balm  and  the  wind  that   stirs   the   very 

soul. 

Strange  that  the  Pastoral,  the  Twenty-third, 
That  "babbles  of  green  fields"  and  quiet 

pools, 


[50] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Of  shepherds  gently  guarding  tender  sheep, 
Should  preface  such  a  vision  of  my  might. 
For  what  is  this?     "Lift  up  your  heads,  ye 

gates, 

Be  lifted  up,  ye  everlasting  doors, 
Be  lifted  that  the  King  " — aye,  what  aline ! — 
"The  King  of  Glory  may  come  in  in  pomp. 
Who  is  the  King  of  Glory?"     How  it  stirs! 
"The  Lord  of  Hosts,  of  Sabaoth,  is  King," 
Indeed  my  king  fore'er,  and,  as  I  read, 
I  see  myself  in  cavalcade  sweep  through 
The  Brandenburger  gate  while  all  cry  out 
"  Our  King  of  Glory  is  come  in ! "    Or,  more, 
In  that  great  dream  of  dreams,  when  'neath 

the  Arch, 
The   Arch   of   Triumph,    with    its   chains 

removed, 
I  stride,  the  Master,  "Lift  your  heads,  ye 

gates ! 

And  be  ye  lifted,  everlasting  doors, " 
The  crowd  should  cry  aloud  as  if  compelled 
By  awe  of  me,  the  All-highest,  as  they  see 
The  princes  join  in  homage  as  I  pass. 


[51] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

AD  now  the  day  of  Palms,  the  day  of 
days, 
Is  here  at  last,  the  day  long  prophe 
sied. 

And  as  I  hear  the  text,  "  Hosannah,  hail, " 
The  words  ring  in  my  ears  as  bells  of  joy, 
My  accolade  from  those  who  know  my  rights, 
"Hosannah,  blest  the  King  of  Israel, 
Who  cometh  in  the  name  of  God  Himself." 
So  John  narrates  the  moving  scene  of  old. 
I  read  it  with  the  inner  light  and  see 
Myself  in  triumph  midst  the  palms,  the  world, 
Remade  by  me,  its  ruler,  at  my  feet. 
"For,   lo,   they  went  before  him  bearing 

palms." 

Yes,  palmam  qui  meruit,  who  more  than  I? 
Ah,  that  my  star  combine  the  Easter  burst 
Of  splendor,  and  this  charnel  house  of  war 
Become  the  open  tomb  of  newrer  life, 
Ne'er  sensed  by  man  and  known  to  God  alone, 
Of  newer  life  and  opportunities. — 
But  to  the  text,  that  is  my  great  concern; 
Upon  its  aptness  hangs  a  new  success. 


JEHOVAH,     GOD     OF    BATTLES 

The  Prophets  speak  of  unrelenting  hate 
Of  those  who  knew  the  sword,  and,  humbled, 

find 

Themselves  a  portion  for  the  foxes,  Ah, 
"  Defile  the  house  and  fill  the  courts  with  slain, 
And  multiply  them  in  the  streets  at  will, 
The  terror  of  the  sword  let  loose  without, 
And  pestilence  within  and  famine  dire," 
"Let  Midianites  as  one  be  safely  slain; 
Because  the  Lord  is  with  those  who  pursue 
The  sword  of  God  and  Gideon  prevails." 
What  richness  in  the  texts;   what  range  of 

choice ! 

The  lesson  must  be  plain  to  all,  nor  hid, 
So  let  all  speak  and  not  equivocate. 

I'D  HAVE  them  use  the  Book  of  Joshua. 
It's  full  of  meat  as  honeycomb  of  sweets, 
Telling  of  Hittite  feuds,  of  Amorites, 
Amalekites  at  bay,  then  smitten  sore; 
Leaves  nothing  out  that  justifies  our  wars; 
The  sack  of  Ai  and  haughty  Jericho, 
Of  Gibeon  and  Hebron  in  the  South; 


[53] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Of  Jericho,  whose  walls  fell  prone,  nor  rose, 
Of  Gibeon,  whose  kings  fell  in  their  pride 
And  all  the  country  far  and  wide  laid  waste, 
Makkedah,  Debir,  Hazor,  in  the  plains, 
The  plains  of  Chinneroth  and  Gezer,  too, 
Lachish  and  Eglon,  Libnah  by  the  sword, 
The  sword  of  him  who  stayed  the  setting  sun 
And  held  the  wandering  moon  o'er  Ajalon, 
The  sign  and  symbol  of  his  victory, 
Who  fought  the  foes  of  God  as  I  have  done 
And  by  His  favor  smote  them  hip  and  thigh 
From  Gaza  unto  Goshen,  nor  did  rest 
Till  one-and-thirty  kings  were  in  the  toils, 
Caught  in  the  snare  and  hanged  at  fall  of  night, 
Upon  the  one-and-thirty  gibbets  hanged, 
Then  thrown  at  evening,  such  the  comnjon  lot, 
In  carrion  pit,  all  utterly  destroyed 
And  those  who  followed  stricken  to  a  man, 
Nor  spared  the  youth,  nor  women,  babes  at 

breast, 

Who  knew,  as  God  smiled  on  his  handiwork, 
In  sooth,  His  peace,  the  peace  of  Joshua: 
His  peace,  in  truth,  the  only  peace  for  me. 


[64] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

I'll  have  this  preached  within  the  Dom, 

proclaimed 

From  all  the  pulpits  throughout  all  the  realm, 
That  Joshua's  peace  is  our  own  holy  peace, 
The  peace  of  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nunn, 
The  peace  that's  by  the  sword  and  of  the 

sword, 

And  for  the  sword,  a  lasting  peace  that  holds. 
These  worthies  of  the  Bible  knew  their  minds 
And  found  their  God  a  not  unwilling  aid, 
As  I,  as  I,  the  credit  where  it  fits, — 
To  whom  the  credit's  due,  my  people  know, 
So  let  us  to  the  text  and  settle  all; 
I'll  put  the  marker,  so,  to  keep  the  place, 
It  lies  in  Chapter  Ten,  Verse  Forty-two: 
"And  all  the  kings  and  all  their  utmost  lands 
Did  Joshua  take,  take  in  his  time,  because 
Jehovah  fought  for  Israel — "     Enough! 
This  is  the  text  for  me,  the  victory  text, 
And  let  the  Pastors  cry  it  everywhere, 
The  peace  of  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nunn, 
Jehovah's  peace,  won  by  the  sword  alone, 
A  German  peace  and  on  our  terms  at  last! 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

CODA 

The  Brand  of  Cain. 

Allegro  Frenrtico- Adagio  Solennrlle. 

As  the  Kaiser  lays  down  the  Bible  a  look 
of  intense  satisfaction  steals  over  his  face 
and  his  gratification  is  so  great  that,  as  he 
gazes  into  the  Park,  he  hums  the  lines  from 
the  Lorelei  as  set  to  music  by  Liszt,  not  the 
folk-song  version  of  Silcher,  and  continues: 

DIE  luft  ist  kuhl — es  dunkelt — schnell; 
jah  wohl, 
I  like  the  Abbe's  setting,  Yes,  'tis 

cool, 
Und  ruhig  fliesst  der  Rhein,  der  deutsche 

Rhein, 

Ah,  German  still  because  of  our  good  sword, 
Naught  else  buys  peace  and  keeps  it  "fest 

und  treu;" 

Es  dunkelt,  schnell,  I'll  have  the  lights  at 
once, 


JEHOVAH,     GOD     OF    BATTLES 

The  evening's  tranquil  as  when  Goethe  wrote 
Upon  the  crystal  pane,  "O'er  all  the  heights," 
Und  uber  alien  Gipfeln  ist  Ruh,  die  Ruh! 
"O'er    all    the    heights    there    shines    our 

German  peace." 

This  Easter  ecstasy  is  God's  own  way. 
Und  uber  alien  Gipfeln  ist  Ruh,  die  Ruh, 
Die  Ruh,  die  Ruh — What,  who,  who  stalks 

within? 

What  khaki-clothed  mummer  is  this  man? 
The    lights!      The    lights!       Es    dunkelt, 

schnell,  the  lights ! 
A  Chaplain  with  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  full 

pale, 

His  voice,  his  voice  is  of  the  sepulcher. 
His  words  are  of  the  burial  liturgy, 
Die  Luft  ist  kuhl;  I  feel  a  sudden  chill. 
A  text;  a  text  for  victory,  his  words. 
What  is  this  mummery,  this  Bible  drip? 
A  TEXT  FOR  VICTORY?  KNOW  THEN 

'TIS  WRIT. 
THE  RACE  WILL  FAIL  INDEED  THE 

BOASTFUL  SWIFT, 


[57] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

AND  PRIDE  WILL  LOSE  THE  BATTLE 

FOR  THE  STRONG. 
THY  WAR!  THY  VICTORY!  IS  GOD 

O'ERTHROWN? 
LO    HE    THAT    SITTETH    IN    THE 

HEAVENS  SHALL  LAUGH, 
IN  SHEER  DERISION  HEAR  THEE 

CRY  IN  VAIN; 
SINCE  THEY  THAT   DIG  THE   PIT 

SHALL  FALL  THEREIN, 
THE  FOWLER  TRIP  HIMSELF  IN  HIS 

OWN  SNARE. 

Who  speaks  in  riddles  speaks  in  foolish 
ness. — 
And  still  he  stands!   this  voice  fills  all  the 

room! 

Or  is  it  murmur  of  the  wind  in  trees? 
BLESSED  ARE  THEY  WHO  THIRST 

FOR  RIGHTEOUSNESS 
AND  HUNGER  FOR  IT— THEY  SHALL 

ALL  BE  FILLED. 
He  would  berate  me  with  beatitudes! 
And  quote  the  scriptures  in  contrariness 


(68] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

BLESSED  ARE  THEY  INDEED;  THE 

MEEK  WITHAL, 
THEY  SHALL  INHERIT— 

Lo,  what  words  are  these 
In  stern  monition  from  his  ghastly  lips? 
BE   NOT  DECEIVED;    GOD   IS   NOT 

MOCKED, 
LO,    WHATSOE'ER    YE    SOW    THAT 

SHALL  YE  REAP. 
AND  YE  THAT  DRAW  THE  SWORD 

AND  STRIVE  BY  IT 
SHALL  PERISH  BY  THE  SAME,  SO 

SAITH  THE  LORD. 
The  Hohenzollern  way  runs  counter-wise, 
The  sword  has  been  our  stead  for  centuries. 
VENGEANCE     IS     MINE,     I  SHALL 

REQUITE  INDEED 
AND  SAVE  YE  NEITHER  BY  THE 

SWORD  NOR  SPEAR, 
YEA,  MENE,  MENE,  TEKEL,  UPHAR- 

SIN,  HARK! 

The  words  are  gibberish  as  all  men  know. 
The  thing  deciphered  after  the  event, 


[59] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

A  parable  for  those  of  kindlich  mind, 
Kindlich  not  koniglich  as  is  our  own. 
THY  DAYS  ARE  NUMBERED  AND 

THE  END  IN  SIGHT. 
THY  KINGDOM  IS  FOREVER  LOST 

TO  THEE 

Dark  sayings,  threadbare  and  without  avail, 
Repeated  oft  and  so  wornout  and  vain. 
AND  LO!  THE  BEAST  WHOSE  NAME 

WAS  BLASPHEMY, 
THE  HORNED  BEAST  AND  CROWNED 

WITH  THE  CROWN, 
WHOSE  POWER,  THOUGH  DRAGON- 
GIVEN,  WAS  NOT  FORE'ER. 
THY  CROWN  A  RIM  OF  FIRE  UPON 

THY  HEAD, 
A     WRITHING     SERPENT-CIRCLET, 

VENOM-FILLED! 

Is  this  a  dream,  fatigue  of  war-tired  brain, 
Or  daze  from  too  much  pondering  o'er  the 

texts? 

I'll  none  of  it! — Ah,  faced,  it  disappears. 
Who  reads  this  riddle  must  himself  be  mad, 


160) 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

For  Revelation  lies  'neath  Luther's  ban 
The  canon  is  in  doubt,  the  text  not  sure — 
WHOSE  NAME  AND  NUMBERS,  SIX 

AND  SIX  AND  SIX. 
SET  OUT  THE  MONSTER  VOID  OF 

HEART  AND  SOUL 
THY  NAME  A  HISSING  IN  THE  HALLS 

OF  MEN, 
A  BYE-WORD  SPAT  WITH  HORROR 

FROM  THE  LIPS. 
What  boots  this  anti-Nero  haggada, 
This  Armageddon  clatter  of  the  beast, 
This  anti-Christ,  this  war  of  vials  and  seals. 
I'll  prove  a  Daniel  in  the  judgment  seat, 
And  read  our  primacy  in  every  line, 
For  prophecy  is  certain  when  you  know; 
And  Hebrew  numerals  arranged  at  will. 
Spell  Caesar  or  the  village  simpleton. 
Still  in  my  ears  the  voice,  the  form  still 

seen. — 
Gott,  I  have  read  too  long — too  long — my 

eyes! 
This  ringing  in  my  ears — It  darkens  fast — 


[61] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

What,  What;  He  cries  again! 

MEN  SHALL  DESIRE 
AND   SEEK   FOR   DEATH,   SUCH   IS 

THEIR  WEIGHT  OF  SHAME, 
AND  KNOW  THE  TORTURES  OF  THE 

DARK  ABYSS, 
THE  DARK  ABYSS  SEALED  TO  THE 

END  OF  TIME 
WITH    SEVEN    SEALS    AND    SEVEN 

MYSTERIES, 
UPON  WHOSE  BLOOD-RED  SCROLL 

BEHOLD  THE  MARK, 
THE  MARK  OF  THOSE  WHO  FALL 

WITH  BABYLON, 
WHO    FALL    WITH     BABYLON     IN 

LASTING  RUIN, 

WHO,  IMPIOUS,  CLAIMED  THE  HON 
ORS  DUE  TO  GOD, 
WITH  THE  MOST  HIGH  DISPUTED 

SOVEREIGNTY! 
WEIGHED     THOU     OF     GOD     AND 

FOUND  AT  FAULT  IN  ALL, 


[62J 


JEHOVAH,     GOD     OF    BATTLES 

THOU    LEAST    OF    RULERS,    LIFE'S 

LONE  ISHMAEL. 
WHOSE  HAND'S  AGAINST  A  WORLD 

ENGULFED  IN  HATE 
AND  THEIRS  AGAINST  HIM. 

Ah,  not  so,  not  so ! 
As  God's  my  judge  the  sword  was  forced 

on  me! 

And  I  did  fight  but  to  defend  mine  own, 
Before  all  men  I  swear  this  solemn  truth! 
AND  PETER  SAID  UNTO  THE  LYING 

TONGUE 
"BEHOLD  THE  FEET  OF  THOSE  WHO 

BORE  THY  MATE 
ARE  COME  IN  HASTE  WITHOUT." 

SO  MEET  THY  END 
FOR  YE  ARE  TOO  ABOMINATE  OF 

GOD. 
AND  THEY  THAT  LOOK  FOR  THEE 

SHALL  SEE  THEE  NOT, 
THOU  SHALT  INDEED  BE  BROUGHT 

TO  LOWEST  HELL, 


[63] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

THE  PIT  SHALL  BE  THY  FINAL  REST 
ING  PLACE, 

A  CARCASS  TRODDEN  BY  THE  FEET 
OF  MEN. 

AND  ALL  THE  KINGS  OF  EVIL  WHO 
ARE  THERE 

WILL  GREET  THEE  IN  DERISION  IN 
ITS  DEPTHS. 

What  is  this  croaking?    Is  it  of  the  mind? 

Am  I  alone,  or  grappling  with  a  shade? 

THE  WINE-PRESS  OF  THE  WRATH  OF 
GOD  THY  FATE; 

THE  WINE-PRESS  THOU  HAST 
FILLED  TO  RUNNING  O'ER.- 

TO  RUNNING  O'ER  WITH  BLOOD  OF 
INNOCENCE, 

WHOSE  BLOOD  CRIES,  "VENGE 
ANCE  ! "  FROM  THE  TORTURED 
EARTH! 

Who  flouts  the  Lord's  annointed  with  these 
words? 

Who  passes  judgment  on  his  regent  here? 


[64] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

LO,   WHO  OFFENDETH  THESE  OUR 

LITTLE  ONES, 
THE  LITTLE  ONES  WHO  PLAY  ABOUT 

OUR  FEET, 

BEFORE  ALL  STANDS  AS  IF  A  MILL 
STONE  HANGED 
ABOUT    HIS    NECK   IN    SHAMEFUL 

PILLORY. 
No,  no,  mine  ears  are  stopped,  mine  eyes  are 

closed; 
Not  mine,  not  mine  the  fault!    I  willed  this 

not. 
These   wraiths   he   raises   up   are   not  for 

me; 

The  Witch  of  Endor  frightened  Saul  but  I, 
But    I    am    free    of    blood    guilt,    hands 

unstained, 

Nor  fear  the  fictions  of  a  craven  mind. 
AND   CAIN  SLEW  ABEL  AND    WAS 

CURSED  OF  GOD 
AND  WANDERED  FAR  AFIELD  O'ER 

ALL  THE  EARTH. 


JEHOVAH,     GOD    OF    BATTLES 

The    brother's   keeper   cry    once    more    is 

heard ! 

And  Cain  was  but  a  weakling,  not  so  I. 
AND  CAIN  CRIED  OUT  IN  ANGUISH 

OF  THE  SOUL 
"MY  PUNISHMENT  IS  MORE  THAN 

I  CAN  BEAR." 

He  stands  as  if  St.  Michael  at  the  gates 
Armed  with  a  flaming  sword!     His  face! 

his  voice! 
Bah,    it     is    all    a    vision!        Help!    the 

lights! 
Luft!  Luft!  The  lights!  The  guards!  I  faint! 

The  lights! 
UPON  THE   IMPERIAL  BROW  THE 

BRAND  OF  CAIN, 
BRANDED     FORE'ER      BEFORE     A 

WORLD  OF  WOE, 

IMPERIAL     LEPER     BY     ALL  EXE 
CRATE. 
BARABBAS    ON    THE    CROSS    WITH 

FATE  DESERVED 


[66] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD     OF    BATTLES 

AND  JUDAS,  WHO  BETRAYED,  KNEW 

FULL  REMORSE. 
THINK  NOT  THIS  BITTER  CUP  SHALL 

PASS  FROM  THEE. 
BEHOLD  IT  IN  THY  HAND;   DRINK 

TO  THE  DREGS, 
THE  DREGS   OF  IGNOMINY,  SURE 

DEFEAT! 

FOREDOOMED,  FOREDAMNED,  AND 

ALL  THY  EVIL  LINE, 
THY  PUNISHMENT- 
NO,  no — not  so — the  lights! 
Luft — luft — I  choke — I  faint — es  dunkelt, 

Ah- 
The  brand  of  Cain — of  Cain — of  Cain — 

fore'er — 

Upon  the  Imperial  brow  the  brand  of  Cain — 
My  punishment  is  greater — Ah — the  dark — 
Am  ende — luft — the  dark — the  dark — the 

dark!  ! 
Am  ende — Gott — the  dark  is  over  all ! 

Falls  heavily  to  the  floor  in  a  swoon. 

[67] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

EPILOGUE 

Written  November,  1918 

Scene. — Early  evening;  time,  November, 
1918.  A  bleak  winter  landscape  in  Holland, 
the  distance  obscured  by  the  persistent  drizzle 
through  which  a  square  Georgian  house  is 
seen  dimly,  with  a  few  windows  lit  up.  In 
the  dripping  garden  figures  move  ghost-like 
on  guard  about  the  house  and  the  gateway. 
Two  guardsmen  of  the  Bentinck  entourage, 
in  raincoats  and  caps,  with  low  visors  over 
their  foreheads,  going  off  duty,  meet  before  the 
main  entrance  and  exchange  greetings: 

First   Guard — Well   met!      And   came   the 

German  out? 

Second  Guard —  Not  yet, 

He  sits  within  and  writes  and  writes  and 

writes ! 
First  Guard — What  writes  he,  thinkst  thou? 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Second  Guard —  Lies  and  lies  and  lies 

And  still  more  lies! 

First  Guard —          Pursuit  congenial  I  vow 
For  one  whose  life  was  one  huge  make- 
believe, 

Sham  and  pretense  and  humbug  to  the  core, 
Mere  paste-board  painted  as  a  sheet  of  mail ! 
A  mannikin  dressed  up  as  Lord  of  Lands 
As  hollow  as  the  image  of  his  Gott, 
Buffoon  and  braggart,  bully  to  the  last, 
Yet  once   the   bladder  pricked,   complete 

collapse ! 
Who,   craven,   with  the   sceptre  lost,   but 

whines, 
Who  once  would  seize  the  world  now  finds 

his  sway 

By  others'  favors  bound  within  this  park; 
Who,  seeming  glad  to  eat  four  meals  and 

sleep, 

Unmenaced  by  the  whimsies  of  the  mob, 
Lo,  grasps  at  servant  courtesies  as  whores 
Seek  such  respect  as  they  may  get  from  dogs; 
Grateful  indeed  for  anything  that  fawns 


[69] 


JEHOVAH,    GOD    OF    BATTLES 

Since  it  recalls  an  honester  estate. — 
So  this  imperial  prostitute  gains  hope, 
Since  e'en  cajolery  has  lost  its  force, 
Aye,  stiffens  up,  as  'twere  a  puppet  king, 
If  but  a  menial  murmurs  "Majesty"; 
The  habit  of  a  lifetime  holding  good 
To  gratify  the  Hohenzollern  pride. 
Second  Guard — The  people  murmur  many 

other  things 

And  loudly  too,  which  though  far  off,  remote, 
Yet  echo  here.     From  Prussia,  Austria;— 
The  German  border  is  a  dyke  that  leaks 
And  every  courier— 

First  Guard—  Yea,  he  starts  in  fear 

And  trembles,  shrinks,  if  one  but  lifts  the 

hand, 

Or  takes  a  sudden  step,  or  raises  voice, 
Or  stirs  the  wind  among  the  shrubbery, 
Or  there  is  deep  commotion  at  the  gate. 
Ah,  'tis  to  laugh  indeed.     Caesar  is  nought; 
A  nothing;  but  lives  on. — 
Second  Guard—  Lives  on,  you  say; 

Had  he  been  Roman  he  had  used  the  sword 


170] 


JEHOVAH,     GOD     OF    BATTLES 

Like  Nero  cried  "See  how  an  artist  dies!" 
But  being  lesser  clay  he  lives,  and  so 
The  comedy  is  finished! 
First  Guard—  And  begun 

The  Tragedy!     (The  door  of  the  house  opens 

abruptly) 
Second  Guard — (stepping  aside  and  toward 

the  house) 

No,  after  you;  he  comes; 
Hist,  silence! 

They  stand  attention  as  a  heavily  muffled 
figure  totters  out  for  the  evening  walk  with  a 
companion  and  as  it  salutes  the  guards  they 
return  the  courtesy  with  a  scarcely  whispered 
and  hardly  disguised  ironical 

Zu  Befehl,  Ihr  Majestat! 
As  it  disappears  in  the  grounds  they  go  within 
while  in  .the  distance  is  heard  the  menacing 
melancholy  wail  of  the  Belgian  refugees 
trudging  homeward  along  the  public  highway: 
"Guillaume,  Assassin!  Assassin,  GuillaumeU" 

Und  der  Vorhang  fallt  schnell  und  immerfort. 

[71] 


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